Waking Up Dead
by Avenging Neko
Summary: Seras Victoria, a promising young police officer, goes missing after a run down of a suspect. Attempts to locate the blonde have failed, and most now assume her dead.
1. Chapter 1

_**Waking Up Dead**_

**_Ketti:_ **Another story to not finish, because everyone knows Ketti needs more stories to not finish. No, but, seriously, I know exactly how I want this one to go. So we'll see. I only posted this one now because it's a present for JuJu needing to do icky school stuff.

* * *

"Stop! Stop or I'll shoot!" Seras Victoria hollered as she clapped one hand to her hip, legs pumping like pistons as she ate up the distance separating her from the criminal her squad was chasing down. Eddie was going around to try and cut him off while Simon stayed with the car to keep track of them both and run the perp down if he tried to car jack someone.

The suspected murderer – suspected her ass, he'd run out of the house with his shirt covered in blood! – just laughed and threw himself around the corner. By the time she reached the same spot, he was no where to be seen. Scowling, she looked around wildly before some voice in her head told her to look up; she did. She fingered her gun for a moment before cursing and throwing herself at the fire escape to continue her pursuit. This sick bastard wouldn't get away with it, she'd chase him down to the ends of the earth if she had to. Her squad mates might call her Kitten, but she was a bloody terrier when it came to chasing down her prey.

Quickly grabbing her radio, she flicked it on, panting, "Eddie, I've got him running through the apartments, cut him off!" She heard a crackle, and a man's voice rasped in her ear, but her entire focus was set on catching up with the bastard and stopping him before he could hurt anybody else. She heard screaming as the residents of the building spotted the blood covered man running by their windows, and ran faster up the stairs and across the short walkway, hand hovering over the rail to catch herself in case she tripped.

"No! STEVIE!" A heart rending scream nearly sent her face planting the next step as a woman started sobbing hysterically in time with a child's wail. Her eyes widened as she realized what must have happened and she set her jaw in determination as she forced her legs to move faster. Faster. _Faster!_ She passed the windows in a blur, using the rails to sling shot herself around the corners and up the stairs. She'd eat her badge before she let an innocent child get hurt on her watch. Ignoring the burning in her side, she threw herself onto the roof in a roll, gun in hand as she came up on her knees, "Freeze!"

Stevie screamed, and Seras could only watch, dumbfounded as the shaggy haired man finished his running leap off the roof to the next building. He turned to look at her, and laughed, flipping her off as he dangled the little boy – surely no older than five! – by his suspenders. Snarling in response, she shoved the pistol back into its holster as she backed up and braced herself. Pushing off from the ledge, she pumped her arms in time with her legs, forcing herself past her body's limits as she launched herself into the open air between the two apartment complexes. For a split second her heart stopped as she realized that her legs were shorter than his, what if… _What if I fall? Oh god, please, please let me make it_. She hit the ground hard and only instinct saved her from a leg fracture as she went limp and rolled with it, again coming up with gun in hand, blue eyes gleaming with determination. A man she hadn't seen before – he must have come up the inner stairwell – grabbed her by the wrist and twisted, but she refused to let go, and shot the perp in the leg before her firearm fell from nerveless fingers. A hard smack was delivered to her cheek and her head reeled as she fell back to the concrete, the only thing saving her from another bump the hold on her wrist. A shoe swung at her ribs and she coughed as the air flew from her lungs, rolling on her side as her numb hand was released. Stevie wasn't screaming anymore, but instead of being relieved, dread filled her core.

"Stupid bitch shot me!" A voice growled, proving that she hadn't suddenly gone deaf, and she groaned as she tried to get to her feet, one arm curled protectively around her stomach. "You don't expect me to have pity on you, do you? Idiot. You weren't supposed to be caught in the first place." The second man, the one that had disarmed her, had a voice like ice, and she could see his white pant legs through her bangs. "The bitch runs fast," by the gods his voice was irritating, gravelly and whiny all at the same time. Seras' features twisted in distaste as she wheezed, pushing herself up only to be kicked down as the white clad man's shoe nearly inverted her elbow. Screaming soundlessly, she rolled away from him as she clutched her arm, moaning as her ribs throbbed in time with her heartbeat.

"She's persistent, I'll give her that."

She could hear them shifting around, the scuffle of their soles on the hard ground, and with a trembling hand, she reached for her radio to turn the receiver on. Unfortunately for her, it crackled, drawing their attention. The perp snarled and lunged at her at the same time as she forced herself into a back-roll-flip to land on her knees with her pepper spray aimed for his face. Without hesitating, she pressed down on the nozzle, not daring to stay still longer than a moment as she threw herself to the side, miraculously avoiding a shot from her own gun. The murderer's pained yells filled her ears as she turned to face the blond man, eyes wide with fear. Oh god, he was going to… The world slowed to a crawl as she stared at the muzzle of her pistol, her heart sounding like a death knell in her ears.

The _bang_ of her pistol sounded like cannon fire, drawing her focus down to a pinprick of light before there was a sudden pain in her neck and everything went dark.

* * *

"_Seras! SERAS! Oh god Simon, get back up. Kitten, can you hear me, Kit-"_

* * *

"_Damaging the merchandise? How sloppy. You're lucky your brother intervened. If you had actually…"_

* * *

"_Bitch got some damn fine legs on her. Nothing broken, bruises will fade, nice pick, bro!"_

"_Do shut up and finish changing her already, the smell of her blood is making me hungry."_

"_Yeah, yeah, keep your fuckin' teeth in. But, hey, if she doesn't sell, we can always keep her."_

* * *

…


	2. Chapter 2

_**Waking Up Dead**_

_**Ketti:**_Look, look! I actually updated. Aren't you proud of me? I'm sorry I took so long, JuJu, but it's heeere. And I know how I want to start chapter three. :D Lithi helped me get past my mini block of 'how do I get from Point A to Point C?' Good Lithi. *pets*

* * *

Seras fought through the cloud of fog in her brain, knowing that something _important_ had happened – or was it happening right now? – and she needed to be awake. Now, Seras. Wake up. Do it now!

"…idding starts at a thousand quid. Do we have any takers?"

"Is she a natural blonde?" "What color are her eyes?" "Are those tits real?" A chorus of derisive laughter filled her ears as clammy hands descended upon her body and began squeezing at her sides and breasts. She snarled and thrashed, but found that her wrists and ankles were bound. They laughed louder and began to pinch, and the police girl realized after a moment that the reason she couldn't open her eyes was the blindfold wrapped tightly around her face, still, she bared her teeth and tensed her muscles, trying to force her bonds open.

"She's feisty." "Meow, kitten has claws!" The laughter sickened her as it poured into her ears like poisoned honey. She was perversely glad for the blindfold as she felt a stinging in her eyes that threatened tears. _No! _She refused to cry, damnit. A hand went between her legs and she shrieked in outrage as she bucked away from the touch, sweat beading on her forehead from the strain of trying to break the ties around her wrists.

"Now now, ladies, gentleman, you know the rules. No one gets to touch the merchandise intimately unless they're the new owner. So, as I was saying… bids?"

Seras tried not to show her relief as the hands left her body, grumbling amongst themselves along the lines of 'ruin our fun'. Sick bastards. What the hell was this, some underground slave trade? She wanted to smack herself for even questioning it; wasn't it obvious enough by her … starting price? She blamed the possible concussion.

"One fifty," someone called out, and the others voiced false gasps of shock, "Two thousand!" "Hey, no, you got the last one, you greedy bastard, learn to share." "Shove a crucifix up it, Relans. Three thousand."

They squabbled like children over a new toy, and Seras felt acid churning in her stomach, threatening to rise as bile up her throat.

"Five!"

There was a brief pause, and then a new voice spoke, soft and feminine, but cold as ice. "Ten thousand and not a quid higher. She'd make a nice new lap dog." The choire of false amusement grated on her ears; titters, chuckles, high pitched shrieks that dissolved into hyena like cackles… Seras cringed, and wished she could cover her ears.

"Sold to the Lady Amalthea! Careful getting her home, she's got spunk."

Seras wondered if they would be stupid enough to release her bonds. Unfortunately, that was not the case, as two pairs of hands lifted her by her bound limbs, making her feel like one of those cartoons where the side kick was tied to the pole, and carted off to the cannibal's village for supper. After a moment she began to shiver, and her breathing grew shallow and harsh at the abrupt drop in temperature. Her teeth chattered, threatening to bite off the tip of her tongue as her already blacked out vision became dotted with swirling red splotches. She felt light headed, and her neck seemed as limp as cooked spaghetti as her head lolled back listlessly. What… was wrong..?

The last thing she heard before losing consciousness was an ominous clang-boom as a large door slammed shut behind her.

* * *

"_Oh god, Simon… there's blood everywhere." Edward "Eddie" Kalvosh covered his mouth with a trembling hand, looking as though he were about to add vomit to the mess atop the roof. After a nearly hysterical call from the apartment complex from a Mrs. Jones telling of how her son Stevie was kidnapped from the window before her very eyes, and a report of a blonde officer chasing after the culprit up towards the roof – the story was confirmed by other resident reports – the trail had gone temporarily cold. That is, until, some noise complaints ensued from the next building over about what sounded like gunfire on the roof. The same sound that had been received by Officer Victoria's radio before it went quiet._

_Simon Davies looked pale as well, Seras' walkie talkie lay abandoned in a dried pool of blood – they'd have to run tests to determine whose it was – along with her cap. There was no sign of the body, or the child. "Start tapping our contacts and lean __**hard**__, I want to know what sick fuck took our Kitten, and I want to know yesterday!" Simon barked, face tight with anguish and rage. They'd find her or the Devil would know the reason why._

* * *

The first thing Seras noticed was the cold.

The second thing Seras noticed was the pair of lips attached to her throat. Sucking. Her. Blood.

Her eyes flew open as she jerked back, only to find there was no where to go, and her hands were tied to her waist. Smart for them, bad for her. She saw a bloody knife placed recklessly on the table in front of her, and she realized that she was bound to a chair. "Get the fuck off me you freak!" Her ankles were only bound to each other, not the chair legs, and she bucked her legs up to dislodge the woman. (She could tell by the breasts pressed against her own.) It worked, but she felt a sharp pain graze her throat, and she cried out even as the female snarled in surprise and outrage as she fell to the floor. Blood oozed, hot and fresh down her throat before it cooled, and she trembled as her weak limbs protested the action. She felt sick, and her vision wavered for a moment as she stared with horrified fascination at the blood covered face of her attacker; pale and perfectly sculpted, her lips were pulled back from an impressive set of canines and Seras dimly wondered if they were implants to help the psychotic woman feed her delusion of being a vampire.

"You made me spill…" Her voice was flute like, delicate, but a shrill edge was creeping into the words and Seras winced as it dug into her brain. "Never. Make. Me. Waste. Blood." Each word was punctuated by the female's high heels clicking on the floor, the sharp sound sending sparks of agony up her spine. God, her head was killing her!

"It's my blood, I can waste it if I want to." Seras retorted between increasingly shallow breaths, she felt really, _really_ sick now. Blood loss did not agree with her.

The sound of the slap reached her ears before she registered the sudden pain in her cheek, and even longer before she realized that the chair had tipped backwards and she had narrowly avoided cracking her skull. Blood filled her mouth, and she choked on the copper tang.

"Never." Those high heeled shoes had sharp tips, Seras found, as she was kicked in the ribs and sent flying into the wall. _How in the hell is she that strong?_

"Make." A hand fisted in her hair and Seras choked as the blood gathered in her throat. That was the final straw, and she couldn't control the flow of bloody vomit escaping her lips.

"M-augh! Vile creature! Disgusting _beast_!" Despite the pain, Seras felt some sick sense of satisfaction knowing she had ruined those pretty, painful, shoes. Her woozy smugness didn't last however – she wondered how she had any blood left at this rate, the stain spreading over her undershirt had already reached her breasts – when the door slammed open and loud footsteps thundered in her ears like gunfire. "Get her out of my sight!" The woman screamed and it was like nails on a chalkboard.

"And put a damned wrap on her neck, I'm going to enjoy stringing her up and draining her of every last drop. Slowly."

Rough hands grabbed her – my, they felt familiar – and Seras moaned weakly as her world spun. If she survived this, she vowed to find something sharp to shove down that banshee's throat to shut her up.

_I'm glad I got my rabies shot._

Her head connected with the door frame on her way out, and her choked gasp of pain was silenced as she lost consciousness.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Waking Up Dead**_

_**Ketti:**_You know what I just found out? That you guys mention me to other people. :O It gave me such a huge ego boost I had to do at least one update today! I make no promises about timing the other ones, but I have a guestimate that Alucard will come in chapter five. Mind you, things in my head don't always turn out the way I want when I type them. Like the third part of this chapter. But JuJu said it didn't suck, so here it is!

* * *

Seras was floating in an ocean of blood. No, not floating, she was sinking! Her eyes opened, and all she could see was red, she couldn't breathe without tasting, _smelling_, the copper syrup. She had to get to the surface! She strained and kicked, and tried to scoop the crimson water beneath her, but quite suddenly her limbs were locked to her sides and she plummeted like a stone. The light faded faster and faster, until the red was so deep as to be black…

She woke with a gasp, shooting upright, only to cringe and drop immediately back to the stiff mattress. Gods, but her chest hurt. Looking around herself blearily, it didn't take long for her to realize she was in a stone walled cell. She lay on a lumpy futon on the floor, with clearly bruised ribs, surprisingly unchained, but she assumed the door must be locked, so why bother restraining her? Well, they'd learn why soon enough. After a moment, her throbbing skull cleared enough for her to remember… A hand flew to her throat, only to encounter a rough gauze wrap. There was a disgusting taste lingering in her mouth, that she had the sneaking suspicion was a combination of stomach acid and blood. There was a bucket by the door, that she dreaded approaching, but seeing no alternative, she crawled over to it, and was amazed to find water. Cupping her palms and bringing the overly mineral tasting water to her lips, she rinsed and spat to the side of the bucket five times before she thought the taste was diminished enough to swallow some of the somewhat questionable contents of the container.

Head clearer, mind no longer buzzing with half remembered dreams, she looked around a second time, and realized two things; one – her clothes were different, two – there were no windows, and the only furnishings were the bucket and the musty padding she'd woken on. Her lips pursed as she considered her options; she needed a weapon, but if she broke the bucket now, she'd lose what remained of the water. Water meant survival for however long she was meant to stay in this hell hole, but having a wooden knife – or stake, of sorts – meant defending herself.

"Fuck."

* * *

"_Sir…" the man shifted nervously, clutching his clipboard like a shield, "I've got bad news, and worse news, which do you want to hear first?" He cracked a smile, but Simon Davies was not in the mood for games, and he gave the other a withering stare. "Er, right, ahem, so… The reports from the roof are in; two different blood types confirmed, one of which matches Officer Victoria's. There have been no new bodies recovered from the Thames, and none of our contacts are talking about child trafficking or underground auctions." The man – Franklin something-or-other, Simon was sure – sobered and gave Seras' senior partner a grave look, "Now for the worse news, sir… This case has been taken out of our hands."_

"_What?!" Simon's hands slammed into the desk with enough force to make his coffee mug jump a good two inches in the air. "That's bullshit, tha-" "is out of our jurisdiction now, Davies." The chief interrupted, looking stern and apologetic all at once._

"_But Chief, I…"_

"_I know, Davies, but you know how the higher ups are about cases they want."_

_Simon's fists clenched and he jerked to his feet, "Then I'll look for her on my own!"_

_A large hand clamped over his shoulder for a moment as the two men exchanged knowing glances, "Be careful and try to keep Kalvosh's trigger happy tendencies in check."_

"_Sir."_

* * *

Seras wasn't sure how much time passed, only aware that she'd had to empty her bladder three times already in the far corner, and there was barely an inch of water left in the bucket. Sbe was terribly hungry, but couldn't allow herself to be weak, so she forced herself to ignore the loud protests her stomach made. Her throat burned, too, despite the water she forced on herself. She was busy flexing her muscles, making sure to keep herself limber, when her silence accustomed ears caught the faint hint of movement outside her door. It was the first sign of life she'd heard since waking, so she grabbed the bucket – slicking the floor to the left of the door – and perched herself at the right angle to bash her visitor's head in.

It all happened quite quickly; a voice grunted in confusion at not seeing her from the doorway, and when he took a step forwards he lost his balance, slamming into the door and falling flat on his ass. Fortunately, Seras was prepared for him going backwards, and leapt out of the way, using the moment of surprise to swing the bucket down viciously onto the – presumably, from the brief glimpse she had of his clothes – servant's head. He grunted in pain, but fell limp as a gorilla sized ragdoll to the stone floor. Pushing and pulling at the lumbersome beast, she managed to roll him far enough into the room to close the door. And off she went, down the hall, completely unarmed with no clue where she was or where she was going. Brilliant.

Forcing herself to move, and breathe as quietly as humanly possible, the police girl ran on bare feet across the stone floor. Spotting some stairs, she pressed herself to the wall as she crept up towards the upper floor, peering cautiously around the corner before taking a chance and running to the left. The walls started to get less dreary looking, covered by wood paneling, and at the junction of a turn a red carpet was lining the floor. A little unsure of what she would find, she decided to follow it – follow the red brick road, she told herself, laughing scornfully at her own thoughts – until she came to a door. She frowned, but… Checking the knob cautiously, it was unlocked.

Shit, shitshitshitshit. She'd made a huge mistake. On the other side of the door was an opulent – strangely windowless – and facing her was the woman from before, Lady Morhphine? Something like that. They both froze for a split second before the pale lady laughed and stood from her seat, "Ah, my pet, coming to me willingly. So eager to die? They say the bruised fruit tastes the sweetest, let's put that to the test."

It was all a blur, literally, as the red clad ravenette shot across the room and grabbed Seras by the throat. The police girl acted on instinct and kicked the freak in the chest. They both tumbled to the floor, and Seras rolled to pin her. Dimly, she wondered how in the bloody hell the woman could move so fast. Was it… No, she refused to consider that option just yet.

Her 'owner' snarled, baring her sharp teeth that seemed even longer than the last time as she swung her hand up from below to smack Seras into the other wall. Okay, ow. What was she, on some mega steroids?

Cringing and rubbing at her head, trying to shake herself back into proper order, she looked up just in time to see the end of an umbrella coming for her face. She threw herself to the side, and stared with awe as the sharp metal tip pierced the wall like a knife through hot butter.

Throwing all her preconceptions to the side, she leapt back, and stumbled as the carpet was suddenly pulled out from under her. Falling flat on her ass, she moaned in pain, before yelping as she was tackled.

Pinned to the floor, wide eyed with fear, she couldn't suppress the tremors crawling up her spine. The woman, the… - she didn't want to admit it, _couldn't_, but … what else..? – vampire stared at her with glowing crimson eyes, fangs bared and extended past her lower lip as she raised a clawed hand to Seras' face. "Disobedient little scrap of flesh, I'll make you suffer for your actions."

Seras panicked.

She bit the hand, and growled low in her throat as the monster above her screamed. The burning in her throat – that she had forgotten was even there – was soothed instantly, and she was disgusted as she realized she _liked_ the cloying liquid on her tongue. Oh god. What was wrong with her?! But she had no time to linger on these thoughts as the creature's free hand slapped her, the force of it unlocking her jaw so that the fingers slid free of her teeth.

Her breathing – already ragged from being tossed about like a rag doll and the bruised ribs – hitched and became more shallow. She could almost _feel_ her pupils dialating as a new tremor rocked her body. She felt… Strange.

"How dare you, _how dare-_" the woman's words were cut off mid sentence, but her lips were still moving. Seras blinked, the world seemed to be going in slow motion, and yet, it seemed to be speeding up. The conflicting information made her senses reel, and the room seemed to spin.

"Filthy mongrel! MEN!" The shriek for her servants made Seras moan as her ears rang painfully. "Take this… this… _thing_, and throw her away. Sell her to the cage for all I care, just get her out of my sight! Of all the… I never… not keeping the beast… waste of… better get my quid worth…"

Seras felt sick. The world was spinning and her ears weren't working quite right. But the burning in her throat was gone, and her bruised ribs didn't hurt anymore. Something heavy impacted her skull, and darkness consumed her.

'_I'm getting really tired of blacking out. It's getting old.'_


End file.
